FLCL: AfterHormones
by animemental1
Summary: Naota thought it would never happen again. He never realized the adventure wasn't over.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Prologue

"Leave me alone." Those were the words that came out of my mouth.

Mamimi looked at me with sad eyes. I didn't feel like talking. Haruko had left me for Atomsk. Just like Amarao said.

"I know this isn't a good time to talk." she said. "But I just wanted…I…can we ever be friends again?"

I knew that Mamimi didn't like me, but she didn't hate me either. But I was angry at her, even though she did nothing to hurt me. I feel so…stupid.

"I'm going to America to find your brother. I want to get back together with him. I'm also looking for a job as a photographer." She hesitated and then said "So long, Naota."

As she walked past the buildings, still in repair, I didn't have anything to say to her except "We can still be friends." I said it.

Chapter 1

*Beginning of Episode 7*

*cue music: Ride on Shooting Star (The Pillows)*

Nothing good ever happens here. Only the ordinary. You take it as extraordinary. I live it every day. That's why it's ordinary to me.

It's been 6 months since Haruko left. I still have her 4001 AzureGlo Rickenbacker bass guitar. I wonder where she is now.

Mamimi got back together with my brother, who happened to had dumped his American girlfriend a week before. She & Tasuku miss me. I miss them too. She & Tasuku visit between baseball seasons on Christmas, which is next week.

I've been practicing guitar lately. I can play songs like Shiver (Coldplay), The Kill (30 Seconds to Mars), Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns 'n' Roses), Hysteria (Muse), & Love Gun (KISS). I own a Les Paul with my own custom design. I named it after Mamimi. I also got a guitar similar to my Flying V. I named that after me & and the 4001 after Haruko. I know. It's weird.

My father & Canti are watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya on TV. Between commercials, they talk about FLCL. My grandfather's working the bakery. He gets more customers because of me & what happened.

I still don't know what the hell FLCL is. But I'm experimenting on what N.O. is. It turns out that N.O. has special powers. I'm trying to learn how to make my guitar fly. That way, I can fly with Haruko. Part of me still deeply cares for Haruko as if she were my spouse. I wonder if I'll ever find love in somebody else other than Mamimi & Haruko. Mamimi found love. Maybe I can too.

Ninamori & I became close friends. I considered a relationship with her. But Ninamori's a bit of a jerk. I don't know what happened to Amarao & Kitsurambi. Tell the truth, I don't know what happened between when Haruko came to when Haruko left. It sounded like a big load of crap. But I have the guitars to prove it. It was real. And it's over now.

I read some manga. Some comedy, some action, & some horror. But they all have love involved in them. And when I think of love, I think of Haruko. And I think about all that's happened & say "What the hell hit me?" The answer: a bass guitar owned by the woman I love.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

*cut music*

School's over. I can go home. And stay there for a while. I do my homework, then play multiplayer RedSteel with my dad & Canti. Then, we have dinner.

"Hey, Naota. My book on the mayor's scandal is completely famous on the internet." My father's talking about the book he made on Ninamori's father. We sit and eat. Tonight's special: Manhattan-style Curry. My father got the recipe from Haruko when she was here. He plans to eat it once every week 'til his stomach adapts to it. So far, the curry still wins. "It's not nice to make books like those." I said, defending Ninamori.

"It's just a book on how corrupt the government is." He said. "Don't let it get to you. Speaking of government, look at America. Tasuku says the taxes there are outrageous. Good thing we live here."

I ignored my father, gave the dishes to Canti, said "I'm going somewhere.", & left. I heard my father say "Come back before 1 AM!"

I stared at the stars above me. I was at the bridge. I yearned for Haruko to come back. And then I remembered the fight. The one she & I had over Atomsk's power. That reminded me of how she's a greedy, self-centered bitch. Part of me hated her. That was the part that loved Mamimi. But she's in a relationship with my big brother. So I couldn't love any girl because I didn't have any one that I liked. It made me feel lonely. That's what love does to you, I guess. "Love sucks." I said. Then, it happened.

A bright light flew straight into town. And then, it hit me. An object flew right out of the sky & hit my forehead. I noticed that it was a guitar. A Les Paul Recording. The same type Les Paul himself used. I was amazed. I didn't know what it was, but my mind looked at the only possibility it could have been: Haruko. I ran to the site of the crash.

It landed in the ashes of Mamimi's elementary school. The one she burned down. I saw a lock of hair. I thought it was Haruko, but something had caught my eye. The hair color was yellow green. It couldn't have been Haruko. Her hair color was pink or peach. Either way, I tried to move the planks over. After I moved a few planks, I saw her face. It looked beautiful. She had purple eye color & the same hair style as Mamimi but her hair was longer. She was in a blue dress. I removed some of the wood. Then, I carried her to a hospital. I felt a lot like my brother when he saved Mamimi.

They said she had no injuries but she was knocked out cold by something, so I waited there for her to wake up. I was listening to Bon Jovi's "It's My Life". An hour later, she woke up. The first thing she saw was me with her guitar. "Excuse me." she said. Her voice sounded chime-like. I was embarrassed. Then, she cleared her throat to expose her real voice.

"Get your hands off my guitar, please." It sounded like Haruko, but it wasn't Haruko. Maybe like some spoiled weirdo. But that's exactly like Haruko. It sounded more like a "hi" than a "ko". I slowly put the guitar down on the floor. "Thank you." She said. "Now, what's your name?"

"Naota Nandaba" I replied. "I found your guitar. It hit me when you…um…fell."

"Oh, really." she said. "My name is Aya Hirayuchi. I was traveling here with a friend, but my acceleration was too high. I crash-landed. Sorry about your forehead."

Oh crap. Not this again. I reached for my forehead and felt a horn-like bump. The same one Haruko gave me. "Not again…" I said.

"But it is." That voice sounded familiar.

"IT'S YOU!" Haruko was standing in the doorway. She was leaning on a double-neck neon red Gibson EDS-1275. I stared in surprise, shock, & a SLIGHT amount of joy. She was drinking Coke out of a bottle & had a half-eaten Choco-Cornet. "I told you to slow down!" she said to Aya. "Earth's gravity force is stronger than normal." She turned to me. "Hey, how's your 6 months been? You still look the same."

I didn't know what to say except "Mamimi left me for my brother." I knew she'd make fun of me. I managed to make the word "Fine." come out of my mouth.

After I recovered from shock, I asked her some questions. "Why'd you come back?" She replied with "'Cause I wanted to, Takkun."

"What happened to chasing down Atomsk?"

"I failed to get control of him. I was chasing him down. I happened to pass by Earth, so I figured that if I can't find Atomsk, I'll lure him down."

"With what? Some kind of big source of N.O.?"

"Yes. You."

I nearly fainted. I couldn't imagine me being a mousetrap for such a huge being. I was outraged also. "Keep me out of your schemes!" I still remember being a guinea pig for Haruko's plan in capturing Atomsk.

"Calm down. I'm just going to take Canti & use him as a big source of N.O. I'll send him away to gather sources of N.O. 'til it's big enough to lure Atomsk. I will need a place to stay though…"

"Oh, no. No. No-no. Don't even think about it. I'm not going to let you stay over!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"We'd love it if you two stayed over!" my dad said.

I was mad at my father for letting Haruko stay over. I was in my room. Haruko was looking at my new set of guitars. "Are you serious? You named your guitars after you, me, & ADD girl?"

"Her name's Mamimi. And yeah." I was in bed. I wanted to go to sleep. Haruko was slowly climbing up to the top of the bunk. Haruko didn't like people sleeping next to her, so Aya had to sleep next to me. I was totally embarrassed by letting her sleep next to me. I could see she was too. I just wanted to sleep. And eventually I went to sleep.

*cue music: Feeling Good (Muse)*

I suddenly found myself walking up a hill. And then I found myself in front of an energetic girl. I expected her to be either Mamimi or Haruko. Then she turned. It was Aya with her guitar in her hands. Then she swung it down on my head. Suddenly, the setting shattered. I suddenly found myself naked in darkness. Then I was surrounded by Haruko, Aya, & Mamimi. They were naked too. My mind was only centered on one thing. "All right, ladies. Let's get started." Then they started doing things to me that I only dreamed of doing when I get married. Things so dirty, my creator's Youtube account would get banned if he used software to make this into an anime. And then, they vanished. I wondered where they went. Then my penis started growing. And growing. I thought it wouldn't stop. Then it retracted & then my horn started growing & growing as my penis retracted. Then I woke up.

*cut music*

I knew what FLCL was in that instant. I knew what my guitar symbolized in that instant. I knew what N.O. symbolized in that instant. That's why Haruko always told me to man up.

*cue music: Dammit (blink-182)*

I got up & looked at myself. I woke up smiling. I finally found out something. I took a walk outside after breakfast. It was snowing. I decided to go & see the town. Wow. I feel like my life has taken a change in direction. So much unraveled in that dream. But a new question rose from that dream: Am I starting to like girls physically?

You know what I mean.

"I wonder if I'm manlier than Mr. T. Or my…" That reminded me about today. "That's right. Tasuku & Mamimi are coming today. I better go back." My father told me that they just got off the plane when I was eating breakfast. I better go back. I tried to get there before they did. But I was too late.

*cut music*

"Hey there, little bro." My brother always addressed me as little bro when he greeted me. "I didn't know you liked girls now. Where have I been?"

"In America, kicking people's asses in baseball." I replied.

"It's a team effort." He replied back.

My brother was looking tall. He was 19. He finished school at 17 & decided to skip college for sports. He had long, spiky, black hair & black eyes. I idolized him.

Mamimi was sitting on the couch. She smiled at me. I walked slowly toward her. "Hi, Takkun." she said. Then, she realized her mistake. "Oops, I forgot. It's been a long time…" She still looks like the same Mamimi.

"Hi. It's okay, Mamimi." I said. "Don't worry about it."

"Hey, what's with that bump on your forehead? And what about the robot?" my brother asked me.

I suddenly realized that the horn was right there on my forehead in plain sight. I seemed to have forgotten about it. I felt embarrassed. And that's what triggered it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

*cue music: Stalker*

My head started to ache & my horn grew larger. I tried to get out before it emerged. Once I got to the middle of the street, the robot emerged from my head. It was green, looked like Canti only taller, & carried around two maces that he attached together to make a staff. My brother watched in terror & shock. He tried to defend me by attacking the robot, but it didn't work. He threw him up in the air. "Tasuku!" Mamimi, my dad, & I had said it simultaneously. I immediately called Canti and ran into his mouth as he appeared.

Now for the cool part.

*cut music/cue music: Advice*

I flew up to my brother & caught him right as he was about halfway down from the peak of height he reached. Then, I landed on the ground & put him there. Then, I faced the robot, took out the cannon, & fired at it. It deflected it with the stick. This is the smartest one I've seen since that one that used shotguns & stuff. I reloaded & then tried something new with my N.O.: rapid fire. I tried to reload & fire as fast as I could until he was too slow to dodge. I ran in a circle & tried to run faster. The faster I ran & the faster I fired my ammo, the easier it would be to beat him. But he's faster than I thought. He kept deflecting. Then, I tried a new tactic. I jumped up & tried to spiral downward into the ground. I made a U-turn once I hit the ground, aimed up, & fired. My tactic worked. I split him in two. I dug my way back up & defused with Canti.

*cut music*

My brother, my father, & Aya stared at me like I was the Grim Reaper. Mamimi congratulated me & Haruko grabbed my hand & kept giving it high fives. As for me, I wondered how to explain it to him.

*End of Episode 7/Beginning of Episode 8*

"So, this Haruko girl is an alien?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't say 'alien'." Haruko said.

"And this Canti thing came out of your head through a portal?"

"Yes."

"And Haruko left you for some all-powerful lord & then randomly came back?"

"Yes."

"And you say this has happened to you ever since you got this FLCL crap?"

"Bingo."

Tasuku got up & suddenly left the room. I went after him. He was in my room. "Hey, why'd you ditch us like that?"

He sighed. "You're not the same anymore. You look the same, but you're not the little brother I know. You always used to hang out with me & now you're too cool for me."

"Hey, don't say that. You & I are best friends. I'm still the same person inside. You just have to realize that I'm older now."

He looked at me. "Wow. I guess I'm not as smart as I think. You're right. We're still best buds after all."

"Yeah. C'mon. Let's go back downstairs."

Suddenly, the door burst open. I found Mamimi, my father, & Haruko piled on top of each other looking at us.

"Do you mind?" We both said. They ran back down.

I also explained to Mamimi why Haruko came back. The good thing was that she was still the same inside. That made me smile. I introduced them to Aya. She was sitting on the couch watching Lucky Star. She's been watching a lot of anime since she arrived. Haruko snuck upstairs with the cat. I guess she still works for those Galaxy Space Patrol guys. Canti was washing dishes. It felt like I've gone back in time but also fell into a slightly alternate universe. The only changes are that Aya's living here as another maid & Tasuku & Mamimi are visiting over. My life has gone back to ordinary.

I called Ninamori about it. She kinda liked the fact that Haruko came back. She didn't really like all the boredom in this town. I didn't either. I decided to pull a manga from a shelf and thought about how life would be if I went with Haruko on her bike to outer space as I looked at how Light demonstrated his trapdoor to Ryuk. I like to read Death Note. The main character never gets involved in a romantic relationship. I read a few novels until my brother appeared at the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"It's time for dinner."

"Oh. Fine."

As I went downstairs, I knew what to expect. Obviously, the craziness of Haruko.

"GOOD AFTERNOON, AUDIENCE!" Haruko said.

"There's no audience. Only us." I said.

"Tonight, we'll cook a home favorite…fried chicken!"

"I don't like fried chicken. It's too oily…"

"Don't like fried chicken? Too bad. We were paid to do it."

"Who pays you?"

"That's classified information! Now first we…"

As Haruko, in her maid suit, prepared the chicken, I noticed a camera in the corner. We never had cameras in our house. Maybe Haruko installed them. I assumed that until I saw something below it. Tiny print. Reading manga can help you see small things. The print said "Property of the Department of Interstellar Immigration." What it really meant was "Hey, kid. We're spying on you to see anything weird about you. My leader is also spying on you to see how to get the power of 'manliness'. Don't blame us. We're just interested in your ways. Your 'acquaintance', Kitsurubami."

Great. The Man-And-Lady-in-Black are stalking me. What else can go wrong? I thought about what they saw & heard until Haruko put my plate down in front of me. "I said it's too oily."

"It's Shake 'n' Bake." she said.

"Wha-?"

"Just eat it."

"Fine." I felt a bit appreciated at the fact that Haruko actually listened. And that happens rarely. I ate my fried chicken as Tasuku talked about how he won the World Series. Mamimi talked about her job working for MAD Magazine. My father seemed to take interest in both stories. My grandfather ignored Mamimi & focused his eyes & ears on Tasuku. Haruko told Aya about all of us. After I finished my chicken, I decided to excuse myself. I went to go & make sure that nothing else was falling from the sky. After that, I went to my bed & thought about how strange my life is. Then, the door flew open. "Mind if I come in?"

It was Aya. "No." I said. "Come on in."

She asked me about my life. I said that life was the same before Haruko arrived & when Haruko left. "I used to feel deep affection for her. But now she just annoys me."

" I feel the same way."

When I heard that, I didn't understand her at first. "I meant the whole annoying thing." She said.

"Oh…..Does she…"

"Drive me crazy? Yes. But she's an OK friend."

"Yeah. How long have you been friends?"

"Since high school."

They have high school in outer space? Cool. "And how old are you now?"

"Sixteen. I met Haruha when she ran me over with her Vespa. She said she was looking for something. Ever since then, she stayed at my place for a while. It took me a while to realize that she was really nicer than you thought. I really didn't have any friends. I considered her as my first friend. One night, I told her that I decided to join the Galaxy Space Patrol & help her find Atomsk. Why's she so special to you?"

"…I…fell in love with her."

"Really? I couldn't imagine Raharu-san being attractive to anybody. She must have been very special to you."

"Yeah. Well…"

And we sat there and talked…and talked…and talked. And we talked until we fell asleep.


End file.
